Millions of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are trapped in the kafala
system where they are underpaid, overworked, and in my case, forced to pay
a $100,000 extortion fee in order to go care for my sick wife in India.

Financial giants like BlackRock and HSBC pour billions into companies and
projects that enable these abuses - quietly fueling the Kafala system.

Tell global investors: divest from Kafala and stop funding modern-day
slavery.

[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 

   
John,

My name is Ahmed Abdul Majeed - after 40 years of hard work in Saudi
Arabia, the Kafala system nearly destroyed my life.

At the height of COVID-19, the company I worked for (which is owned by
Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman) fired me, confiscated my passport, and
forced me to pay $100,000 in order to leave the country to tend to my sick
wife in India. My son had to sell our home in order for me to escape the
prison that is Saudi's Kafala system.

This experience was devastating for our family and continues to haunt us
to this day. 

Behind abuses like mine are financial giants like BlackRock, Allianz, and
HSBC - pouring billions into new projects in Saudi Arabia and fueling a
system that traps workers and strips them of their humanity. These
companies claim to care about human rights - if that's true, they must
immediately stop funding modern-day slavery. Will you help me raise an
outcry?

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: demand justice for me and my family - and help put
an end to the Kafala system.

Behind the glittering Gulf skylines is a hidden web of abuse - from the
construction workers who are building stadiums for the 2034 World Cup in
Saudi Arabia, to domestic workers trapped in homes across the region -
Kafala is modern-day slavery, giving employers total control over a
worker's life, freedom, and fate. 

When global investors pull their money, MBS feels it. Divesting from the
system built on exploitation puts real pressure on him to end Kafala.
Money is the one language this government understands - take it away, and
change becomes impossible to ignore. 

I am old. I am sick. I don’t know how much time I have left. But I know
this: if you support our efforts to end the Kafala system, companies will
not be able to ignore us forever. For five and a half years, I fought
alone. Today, I’m asking for your help. 

[ [link removed] ]Sign now to demand an end to the Kafala system and justice for me &
every exploited worker.

Human rights groups, the International Labour Organisation, and
international watchdogs have already exposed the truth: Kafala is
exploitation, not employment. With your voice, we can make it impossible
for governments and corporations to hide behind their polished PR while
profiting from abuse.



[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 



Thanks for all that you do,
Ahmed Abdul Majeed and the team at Ekō


More information:

[ [link removed] ]No, Saudi Arabia has not abolished the Kafala system
The Migrant Rights Research Open Repository 29 October 2025
[ [link removed] ]Migrant workers face ‘cycle of abuse’ in Saudi Arabia before World Cup,
UN told
The Guardian 26 November 2024
[ [link removed] ]‘Every day I cry’: 50 women talk about life as a domestic worker under
the Gulf’s kafala system
The Guardian 25 April 2024
[ [link removed] ]The wage slaves of the Kafala system
Open Democracy 15 November 2024

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]